None of the three candidates are seeking this nonpartisan seat on the School Board received 50% of the August primary vote, so the top two -- Curtis Gaus and Albert Wagner -- advance to a runoff in November.
News4Jax sent a questionnaire to each candidate asking about their background and their views on several issues. Scroll down to read the responses of those seeking your vote -- in their own words.
Recommended Videos
Note: Responses are sorted alphabetically and are presented exactly as submitted, with no editing by News4Jax staff.
| CANDIDATES |
Curtis Gaus
Occupation: Teacher
Age: 52
Your family: Wife, Jennifer; 5 adult children; one granddaughter
Education: BS Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Northwest Missouri State University; MS Ed Leadership, UNF; Ed Specialist University of West Florida
Political experience: 1st political campaign
What do you see as the top three issues you’ll likely face while holding this office?
- Unprecedented Growth in Nassau County; Teacher Retention and Recruitment; Fiscal Responsibility in an ever-challenging economy
News4Jax asked each candidate three additional questions to help voters determine which most agrees with their views:
“Parental rights” has recently become a law in Florida and a political buzzword. What does that concept mean to you and how would it affect your decisions on the school board?
- Parents have the right to be actively engaged in their child’s education. They have a right to know what is being taught in classrooms and what types of books are in the school libraries. If parents disagree with the way the schools are being run, they have a right to voice their opinion in an open forum.
How would you balance new state laws and guidelines restricting how history, gender identity and civics can be taught in public school classrooms with the need to educate children in a complex 21st Century society?
- While, I support Gov DeSantis’ policies on history, civics, and gender identity education in public schools, I understand there are going to be open disagreements with those policies. I believe American History and Civics Education should be taught as close to accurately as possible in order to help future generations learn from not only the victories of the American past but also the challenges we faced as a nation, as well. I believe the history of this great nation is why we are best nation on Earth. Gender Identity social issue and should not be taught until students are old enough to understand the complexities of the issue.
Outline your ideas to address teacher shortages and morale.
- Teachers are professionals and they should be treated as such. All of societies issues often manifest itself inside classrooms, and teachers do a great job of handling those issues. My ideas for teacher retention and recruitment is: 1. Continue to increase the pay for all teachers and staff to match the increase in the cost of living. 2. Provide teachers with additional support to deal with disrespectful and unruly students. 3. Take away some of the unfunded mandates that require teachers to do additional work without appropriate compensation. 4. Develop a mentoring program for new teachers to reduce the stress of the job and help them manage the workload.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
- I have been a school and district level administrator for 18 of my 25 years in education. I have worked hand in hand with parents and students to help them solve problems that they encounter on a daily basis. I can provide the voters with an understanding of the educational system to help them navigate all levels of their child’s learning. While I was in charge of Career and Adult Education, I built an alternative school and multiple career programs to help students bridge the pathway from education to careers.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
- I want the public to see me as a school board member who is visible and approachable. I have spent my career attending school events from band competitions, robotics competitions, to sporting events and I don’t see myself changing that visibility. I also want to be able to provide the local news outlets information on what is happening with the Nassau County School Board so the taxpayers are well-informed.
Campaign website:
Campaign’s social media site(s): Facebook - Curtis Gaus, Candidate for NCSB, District 3
Albert J. Wagner
Occupation: Educator
Age: 48
Your family: Wife - Kendra Wagner (16 years}, two daughters - one in 8th grade, one in 5th grade
Education: MA - Educational Leadership, St. Joseph’s University
Political experience: NONE
What do you see as the top three issues you’ll likely face while holding this office?
- Staff Retention
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Continue growth of our Technical Education Program and improving assess to our technical education program for our students in Callahan and Hilliard.
News4Jax asked each candidate three additional questions to help voters determine which most agrees with their views:
“Parental rights” has recently become a law in Florida and a political buzzword. What does that concept mean to you and how would it affect your decisions on the school board?
- I am a supporter of Parent Rights. As a school member I believe in parents having the right to talk at board meetings without being cut off, parents’ rights to view curriculum and school library books. As a board member is my duty to protect and enforce those rights for parents/stakeholders.
How would you balance new state laws and guidelines restricting how history, gender identity and civics can be taught in public school classrooms with the need to educate children in a complex 21st Century society?
- I don’t believe the state is restricting how history is taught. The state is restricting the teaching of theory as fact. We are protecting our children from being exposed to bias within their curriculum. I do not believe students should be subjected to ‘Teaching’ gender identity in a way that confuses students and causes more mental harm to them. I believe students should understand that there are students who are among us who may be going through situations. As a school district though it is not our place to push them one way or another, our job is to protect them to make sure that our students our accepting of others and they can learn without fear of how their school day is going to go. FACT: Most mental health illnesses stem from the feeling of not being safe. I don’t ever want any student to feel that way.
Outline your ideas to address teacher shortages and morale.
- We are an A rated school district based on the criteria the state has set forth. But that grade does not reflect what is going on behind the scenes. Current leadership will explain that teacher shortages are a state and national problem. To me, that is showing ignorance to the situation. This year, we had 30%+ staff resignations. Last year, we had many senior leadership staff leave our district. Can they get paid more in say Georgia? Yes, but that is not the reason our seasoned staff is leaving our county. The reason they are leaving is because they cannot carry the tremendous burden that district leadership is placing on them. Our teachers are asked to create curriculum each week on early dismissal days and are told when and how they will teach it. They are instructed on how long whole group and small group instruction will take place - down to the very minute . Teachers are getting knocked on their observations if they are not doing everything down to the minute. This is not teaching, this creating robots who say “Yes” and don’t ask questions. Our para professionals are being pulled in a million directions and are not able to do work with children in small groups. Our guidance counselors are being asked to have their fingers in so many pots, that actual student guidance is put to the side. Finally, discipline. We need to follow our discipline policy and hold those accountable for not following through on disciplining poor behavior. Our staff needs to know, that we have their back and will not tolerate improper behavior. So, how do I address this as a board member? By getting back to the “We” in we are Nassau. We need to first provide vetted curriculum materials to our teachers. Second, we need to trust our teachers. They are professionals, they are the ones who know their students, so let them design how their class structure will be. We need to extend help to our support staff and shore up areas where they are being pulled into that is above their contractual duties so they can do their job. Finally, we need to be transparent with our staff and stakeholders regarding the budget and allow for a committee of stakeholders to review our school budget to make public recommendations to the school board. By being transparent, accountable and honest, our negotiations will be more cooperative. We can provide our support staff with a living wage and give our seasoned teachers a respectful income for all they do for our district.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
- I can help our district in a way that others running for this office cannot because I have a vision for the future of our district. I will not rest on our laurels of being an A rated district because of test scores. Experience matters, but also having an open mind, a willingness to learn, a willingness to be visible, to accept accountability, and a willingness to be transparent are are all equal to having that experience. As a school board member I will help develop the vision of our school district and led by example. I will demonstrate in how to bring back the “We” in We are Nassau by developing committees of experts to help solve our problems. I will reach out to the non-profits and businesses that want to help our district and form or grow our relationships with them.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
- With a vision of improving our district in teacher retention, financial responsibility, and growing our technical program as well as access to it from Hilliard and Callahan. I would hope that I can be remembered for accomplishing what I set out to do. By changing district policy on how school and district leaders are hired, by growing our technical programs and visiting with them, by measuring our staff morale and work with staff to make Nassau a better place. If I can look back upon my time as a servant to our community and say “WE DID IT!” then I will feel like the mission was accomplished - because WE did it together.
Campaign website: NONE
Campaign’s social media site(s): @AlbertWagnerforSchoolBoardDistrict3